Published: Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 8:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 8:22 p.m.

It's just before noon on a Monday when Buzz Peterson enters a Wilmington burger joint, tanned from a few months' worth of regular golf outings.

The former UNCW men's basketball coach, wearing a green polo shirt and plaid shorts of the same hue, looks ready to hit the links – which he is. He'll meet former assistant Houston Fancher for an afternoon round at Landfall after lunch.

It's been 100 days since Peterson was a basketball coach, he says with a grin.

Or so.

He kept an exact count at the beginning, when staying busy felt a daily struggle. Reading and errands and golf helped pass the time after his March 11 firing. Now he's lost track, and that's a good thing.

"At first, it was not easy," Peterson said. "For 27 years, you were getting up and doing something. All the sudden, you find yourself with nothing to do."

This isn't the first time Peterson has been unemployed, but it is the longest stretch. It was 30 days between his firing at Tennessee and his hire at Coastal Carolina in 2005. The rest of his career has been defined by hopping from one gig to another.

Peterson feels like he has better perspective this time. He doesn't have to dive into another job right away. At 51, it's a chance to get to know his family again. His wife, Jan, and their three children – Nicole, Olivia and Rob – just returned from a Mexican resort, their first vacation together in at least five years.

His UNCW contract helps frame that mindset. He's still receiving monthly checks, which will keep coming through March 2016. Any money he earns now will come out of the more than $880,000 he was owed for the final two years of his contract.

Peterson received a reported $1.4 million buyout from Tennessee and wonders how his career would be different if he took a year off back then. Instead, he went job hunting and ended up picking Coastal Carolina over Florida Atlantic.

"The fear of not coaching bothered me bad," Peterson said. "It about drove me crazy. By the time I lost my job, I thought, ‘I don't know what I'll do. I'll die if I don't get out there and coach.' … I guess you get older and things change."

Today, Peterson doesn't know exactly what he wants to do next. Last month, he spent a week in Charlotte, working for his friend and former UNC roommate Michael Jordan as an unpaid draft consultant with the Hornets. He's currently in Las Vegas taking in the NBA Summer League action there.

From 2007-09, Peterson worked in Jordan's front office, but he's not sure if a second permanent NBA gig is the right move.

Peterson, who also owns a stake in a golf course and a steakhouse, hasn't pursued any college jobs. The phone doesn't ring as much as it used to, and that's fine. He's open to being an assistant again, with a friend in the right situation. That's a move he'd consider in 2015, he said.

"I think he's in a really good place," said East Tennessee State coach Murry Bartow, one of Peterson's closest friends. "Very clear- headed and trying to think through his future and what he wants to do. I think he's got a lot of different directions that he can go."

Peterson is feeling better physically than he has in a few years. He was sick for a large chunk of the winter and started having chest pains at the CAA Tournament in March.

The coach was taken from his home by ambulance and hospitalized for a night in the week after he was fired. He said the incident was stress-related. He's dropped two strokes off his golf handicap since then and also improved his diet.

"Heart's good, a little scare," he said.

Peterson said he plans to stay in Wilmington for now. Rob will be a sophomore at Laney, and Olivia won't be too far away when she heads to Meredith College next month for her freshman year. He figures he'll end up on a basketball court again soon, even if he doesn't take a job right away.

Former assistants Ed Conroy (Tulane) and Kerry Keating (Santa Clara) have invited Peterson to speak to their teams in the fall, and he'll probably stop through at UNC. He jokes that Jordan is happy to take his advice if he can keep getting it for free.

"It'll be interesting when the season starts," Peterson said. "When everybody starts to coach, it will be a little tough time for me. I'll have to stay busy."

<p>It's just before noon on a Monday when <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9942"><b>Buzz Peterson</b></a> enters a Wilmington burger joint, tanned from a few months' worth of regular golf outings.</p><p>The former <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic71"><b>UNCW</b></a> men's basketball coach, wearing a green polo shirt and plaid shorts of the same hue, looks ready to hit the links – which he is. He'll meet former assistant Houston Fancher for an afternoon round at Landfall after lunch.</p><p>It's been 100 days since Peterson was a basketball coach, he says with a grin.</p><p>Or so.</p><p>He kept an exact count at the beginning, when staying busy felt a daily struggle. Reading and errands and golf helped pass the time after his March 11 firing. Now he's lost track, and that's a good thing.</p><p>"At first, it was not easy," Peterson said. "For 27 years, you were getting up and doing something. All the sudden, you find yourself with nothing to do."</p><p>This isn't the first time Peterson has been unemployed, but it is the longest stretch. It was 30 days between his firing at Tennessee and his hire at Coastal Carolina in 2005. The rest of his career has been defined by hopping from one gig to another.</p><p>Peterson feels like he has better perspective this time. He doesn't have to dive into another job right away. At 51, it's a chance to get to know his family again. His wife, Jan, and their three children – Nicole, Olivia and Rob – just returned from a Mexican resort, their first vacation together in at least five years.</p><p>His UNCW contract helps frame that mindset. He's still receiving monthly checks, which will keep coming through March 2016. Any money he earns now will come out of the more than $880,000 he was owed for the final two years of his contract.</p><p>Peterson received a reported $1.4 million buyout from Tennessee and wonders how his career would be different if he took a year off back then. Instead, he went job hunting and ended up picking Coastal Carolina over Florida Atlantic.</p><p>"The fear of not coaching bothered me bad," Peterson said. "It about drove me crazy. By the time I lost my job, I thought, 'I don't know what I'll do. I'll die if I don't get out there and coach.' … I guess you get older and things change."</p><p>Today, Peterson doesn't know exactly what he wants to do next. Last month, he spent a week in Charlotte, working for his friend and former UNC roommate <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic11"><b>Michael Jordan</b></a> as an unpaid draft consultant with the Hornets. He's currently in Las Vegas taking in the NBA Summer League action there.</p><p>From 2007-09, Peterson worked in Jordan's front office, but he's not sure if a second permanent NBA gig is the right move.</p><p>Peterson, who also owns a stake in a golf course and a steakhouse, hasn't pursued any college jobs. The phone doesn't ring as much as it used to, and that's fine. He's open to being an assistant again, with a friend in the right situation. That's a move he'd consider in 2015, he said.</p><p>"I think he's in a really good place," said East Tennessee State coach Murry Bartow, one of Peterson's closest friends. "Very clear- headed and trying to think through his future and what he wants to do. I think he's got a lot of different directions that he can go."</p><p>Peterson is feeling better physically than he has in a few years. He was sick for a large chunk of the winter and started having chest pains at the CAA Tournament in March.</p><p>The coach was taken from his home by ambulance and hospitalized for a night in the week after he was fired. He said the incident was stress-related. He's dropped two strokes off his golf handicap since then and also improved his diet.</p><p>"Heart's good, a little scare," he said.</p><p>Peterson said he plans to stay in Wilmington for now. Rob will be a sophomore at Laney, and Olivia won't be too far away when she heads to Meredith College next month for her freshman year. He figures he'll end up on a basketball court again soon, even if he doesn't take a job right away.</p><p>Former assistants Ed Conroy (Tulane) and Kerry Keating (Santa Clara) have invited Peterson to speak to their teams in the fall, and he'll probably stop through at UNC. He jokes that Jordan is happy to take his advice if he can keep getting it for free.</p><p>"It'll be interesting when the season starts," Peterson said. "When everybody starts to coach, it will be a little tough time for me. I'll have to stay busy."</p><p><i></p><p>Eric Detweiler: 343-2261</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @edetweiler</i></p>